2012 AAPT Summer Meeting Welcome to Philadelphia ...................... 3 Meeting Information ............................. 4 First Time at a Meeting? ........................ 6 About Philadelphia ............................... 8 Meeting at a Glance .............................. 11 Special Events ....................................... 16 Committee Meetings............................. 17 AAPT Awards ......................................... 18 Philadelphia, PA Plenaries ............................................... 21 Commercial Workshops ......................... 23 July 28–August 1, 2012 Exhibitor Information ............................ 24 Sessions Schedule Charts ...................... 27 University of Pennsylvania Workshop Abstracts .............................. 30 Session Abstracts .................................. 39 Sunday ............................................... 39 Monday .............................................. 43 Tuesday ............................................. 85 Wednesday ......................................... 123 Our Donors ............................................ 148 Participants’ Index ................................. 149 American Association of Physics Teachers Advertiser Index .................................... 152 One Physics Ellipse Maps ..................................................... 153 College Park, MD 20740 Restaurants ........................................... 159 301-209-3333 www.aapt.org Session Sponsors ................................... 160 Welcome to Philadelphia! You are in for a treat. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was the home of the first great American experimental physicist, Ben Franklin. Our meeting venue is one of America’s oldest college campuses, the University of Pennsylvania. The 5K AAPT Walk/Run, a fundraiser that supports our meetings and conferences, will tour this beautiful campus! Attendees will also have a chance to visit area attractions. Don’t miss the trolley tour of downtown Phila- delphia. Experience the sights and hear the tales of a city that forged a nation, cheered for Rocky, and is home to the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the western hemisphere, the Lib- erty Bell and Independence Hall! The city is known for its hoagies, scrapple, soft pretzels, Philadelphia Water Ice, Tastykake, and is home to the cheesesteak. Be sure to visit the two most famous cheesesteak vendors in Philly, Pat’s and Geno’s. These two vendors have a highly publicized rivalry and are located across the street from each other on 9th St. and Passyunk Ave. in South Philadelphia, just three miles from campus. Like Philadelphia, the 2012 AAPT Summer Meeting has much to offer. Our celebration of Physics: The Experimental Core will feature an opportunity to watch a live performance and learn more about the life and times of Benjamin Franklin, one of the leading figures of early American history. Physics is an experimental science. Encouraging and empowering the next generation to embrace the art of experi- mentation that lies at the core of physics will ensure that our field remains vibrant and alive. Our plenary sessions will explore our field across the scales of size, from the very small to the very large, with a stop at the human scale. Schools of fish, flocks of birds, and stampeding elephants are examples of phenomena from the natural living world that can be described using the tools of physics. Biological physics is a rap- idly developing field of research that lies at the boundaries of physics, chemistry, and biology, and seeks to contribute to our understanding of life. Our 17 area committees span interests from Apparatus, to Women in Physics, to Science Education for the Public to Teacher Preparation to Professional Concerns. All interested members are welcome to at- tend these committee meetings, which are listed in the schedule, to get involved! We’ll hear talks that cross time, from “Experience, Experiment, Entertainment: Electrostatic Apparatus in the Age of Franklin” to looking to the future of our field with the “APS Bridge Program: Enhancing Diversity in Physics Graduate Education.” Speakers will answer questions such as “Can computational modeling be accessible to introductory students?” and how can we provide quality laboratory experienc- es in these days of tight budgets? We can look outward to “Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Science” and inward to “Faculty Peer Mentoring.” We can explore ways to innovate our laboratory instruction and gain “International Perspectives on Laboratory Instruction.” We can learn more about “Leadership Models in Science” and “Mentoring Minority Students.” We can learn from the results of the “Two-Year College New Faculty Experience.” We can also relax and be amazed, even though we understand the sci- ence, by demonstrations from Third Eye. Preceding this meeting, July 25-27, ALPhA will host the 2012 Topical Conference, “Laboratory Instruc- tion Beyond the First Year of College.” And “The New Faculty Commencement Conference,” part of AAPT’s New Faculty Experience for Two-Year College Faculty will take place July 27-30. Directly follow- ing this meeting, the Physics Education Research Conference (PERC) is scheduled August 1-2, 2012. It will be a busy meeting and I’m excited to have you here! Please send me your feedback and stories from the Summer Meeting. Gay Stewart, [email protected] 2012 Program Chair July 28–August 1, 2012 3 AAPT Sustaining Members Special Thanks AAPT wishes to thank the following persons for their dedi- The American Association of Physics Teachers is extremely cation and selfless contributions to the Summer Meeting: grateful to the following companies who have generously supported AAPT over the years: Our Philadelphia organizers: • From the University of Pennsylvania: Larry Gladney, American 3B Scientific Physics Department Chair, Asante Barr, Bill Berner, Arbor Scientific Bryan Boulden, Erin Fallon, Lauren Gala, Vivian AU Physics Enterprises Hasiuk, Stephanie Heminger, Jane Horowitz, Chris Audio Visual Imagineering Leary, Millicent Minnick, Jim Nixon, and Harriet Design Simulation Technologies, Inc. Slogoff • Darnell Belford, of the Philadelphia Convention and Educational Innovations, Inc. Visitors Bureau Expert TA Paper sorters: Kathleen Falconer Iowa Doppler Products Brittney Johnson John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Dyan Jones Johns Hopkins University Press Mary Bridget Kustusch Klinger Educational Products Corp. AAPT Executive Board Laser Classroom Jill A. Marshall, President Gregory Puskar Modus Medical Devices, Inc. University of Texas – Austin Vice Chair of Section Representatives Oceanside Photo & Telescope Austin, TX West Virginia University Morgantown, WV PASCO scientific Gay B. Stewart, President Elect University of Arkansas Steven Shropshire, at large Pearson Fayettevile, AR Idaho State University Physics2000.com Mary Beth Monroe, Vice President Pocatello, ID Sapling Learning Southwest Texas Junior College Diane M. Riendeau, at large Uvalde, TX Deerfield High School Sargent Welch–CENCO Physics Steven Iona, Secretary Deerfield, IL School Specialty Science (CPO Science) University of Colorado Paul Williams, at large The Science Source Boulder, CO Austin Community College Paul W. Zitzewitz, Treasurer Austin, TX Spectrum Techniques LLC University of Michigan – Dearborn Karl C. Mamola (ex officio) TeachSpin, Inc. Dearborn, MI Editor, The Physics Teacher Tel-Atomic, Inc. David R. Sokoloff, Past President David P. Jackson (ex officio) Vernier Software & Technology University of Oregon Editor, Amer. Journal of Physics Eugene, OR W H Freeman & Company Robert C. Hilborn (ex officio) Marina Milner-Bolotin AAPT Associate Executive Officer WebAssign Chair of Section Representatives Univ. of British Columbia Beth A. Cunningham (ex officio) Vancouver, BC Canada AAPT Executive Officer Contacts: Facebook/Twitter at Meeting AAPT Programs & Conferences Dept: 301-209-3340; [email protected] We will be tweeting and posting upates to our Facebook Tiffany Hayes, Director, Programs & page before and during the meeting to give you all the Conferences details of the meeting. Participate in the conversation Cerena Cantrell, Associate Director, Programs by reading the latest tweets here, or placing the hashtag & Conferences #aaptsm12 in your tweets! We will also be tweeting and Janet Lane, Programs Administrator posting to Facebook any changes to the schedule, cancella- Pearl Watson, Meetings Logistics & Registration tions, and other announcements during the meeting. Coordinator Follow us to stay up to the minute! (facebook.com/physicsteachers and @physicsteachers on American Association of Physics Teachers Twitter) One Physics Ellipsethy College Park, MD USA 20740-3845 301-209-3340, fax: 301-209-0845 [email protected], www.aapt.org 4 Monday, July 30 12:15–1:15 p.m. Houston Hall - Golkin First time at an AAPT meeting? Welcome to the 2012 AAPT Summer Meeting in Philadelphia! Everyone at AAPT hopes you fulfill all the goals you have for attending this meeting. To help you plan your meeting activities, the following information and suggestions have been developed. • Being at your first National Meeting can be a lonely meeting and about AAPT. This is the first time it will experience if you don’t know anyone. AAPT members be held in our Exhibit Hall! are friendly people, so do not hesitate to introduce • Awards and other plenary sessions have distinguished yourself to others in sessions and in the hallways. It speakers and are especially recommended. Invited is fun and rewarding to establish